The field of this invention relates generally to systems for protecting skiers from injury from structures and obstacles on a ski slope, and more particularly, relates to a cushion assembly for wrapping around ski lift, chair lift or gondola tower support columns to prevent injury to skiers who accidentally careen into the columns.
Present technology provides apparatus for padding ski towers and other obstacles on ski slopes to prevent injury to skiers upon collision. However, there are deficiencies in existing padding systems.
The padding systems now in use typically include a canvas apron which is filled with a soft material, such as cotton fibers. This soft cushion is attached to the base of a chair lift tower, to extend from the ground up to a height generally exceeding six feet from the ground. Thus erected, the cushions are designed to provide padding adequate to prevent serious injury to skiers who collide with the tower structure.
However, moisture is a major problem with these padding-based cushions. Over time, water penetrates the canvas apron and becomes absorbed by or otherwise trapped in the soft cushion padding. During the winter ski season, temperatures frequently vary above and below the nominal 32.degree. F. freezing temperature of water. When this happens, the snow melts, migrates into the padding and the water now absorbed or trapped by a padding freezes to form hard unyielding ice. The effect of this is to convert the previously soft pads into solid rigid members which are so hard that a skier can be injured by the frozen padding alone.
Another serious deficiency of such prior art padded cushion assemblies is that the only way to known if the cushions are frozen or not is for a person to push on one. It is not possible to merely see from a distance whether or not a cushion is frozen. Lift operators or the ski patrol must periodically feel the cushion assemblies to be certain that they are safe, and as a practical matter this is done only when the snow depth changes so much as to require movement up or down of the cushions.
For the frozen cushions to be effective again as pads for the ski tower columns, a sufficient period of time must pass during which the ambient temperature is above the freezing point of water to permit the cushion to thaw out and water to migrate out of the padded cushion. As long as moisture remains in the cushion, the cushioning effect is reduced, and upon freezing, the cushion returns to a rock-hard state. Additionally, the presence of moisture in the cushion material and constant cycling between ice and water with temperature changes gradually degrades the material and the performance of the cushion.